Understanding the Campaign engine???

[mrjmaint]

Can anyone explain to me how the campaign engine works?

I am trying to modify the Attack in the West (aka BoF) campaign to give both sides an equal start. I want the allies to possibly win. I have the Campaign SDK and do understand most of the parameters. I have equaled out the Production Center values for the Strategic Supply (40 to 50) and have set the Strategic Reserve to low values (3 to 4). The turn length is set at one day.

What I don’t understand: When I start the campaign all of the values and also the front line values are about equal. I fly one mission and when the map comes back one day later Germany has a SR of 18 or 19, even thou their supply level has not changed, has started an invasion and has captured several production centers. How does this happen?

Is the campaign engine flawed? Are some of the Campaign Parameters more important than others? I have tried various parameter settings and the same result happens.

Is there anyone out there who has worked with campaigns that could enlighten me?

Thanks.

[Led Zeppelin]

yes, this is how I've build this campaign.

If you want equal forces between each side:

- import the entire CampaignParams section from the stock campaign into the west40 one (take care of the NationalityData section)

- rework the Phase sections in order to have equal reinforcments.
Try this:
<Phase>
<Date Month="5" Year="1940"/>
<Country Name="Belgium" F="10" B="7"/>
<Country Name="France_Free" F="20" B="8"/>
<Country Name="Britain" F="10" B="5"/>
<Country Name="Germany" F="40" B="20"/>
</Phase>
<Phase>
<Date Month="6" Year="1940"/>
<Country Name="Belgium" F="10" B="7"/>
<Country Name="France_Free" F="20" B="8"/>
<Country Name="Britain" F="10" B="5"/>
<Country Name="Germany" F="40" B="20"/>
</Phase>
<Phase>
<Date Month="7" Year="1940"/>
<Country Name="Belgium" F="10" B="7"/>
<Country Name="France_Free" F="20" B="8"/>
<Country Name="Britain" F="10" B="5"/>
<Country Name="Germany" F="40" B="20"/>
</Phase>

- test, hope this will work.

[Daiwilletti]

Hi mrjmaint,

pick up the campaign sdk. IIRC it is a standard MS sdk at the cfs3 site. If not, PM me and I will dig out a copy. It is in MS word format, so you need to have that software.

Once you have the SDK, take a look at other addon campaigns to see what they do to modify the stock campaign. The best way to compare the campaigns is to use comparison software - I use
Winmerge which is freeware and invaluable when you've stuffed up a modified xml file - you can open a stock file and compare it with yours, it instantly shows where the differences are.

Another useful tool for modifying campaigns is XMLWrench, another freeware item - if you open an xml file with this program, it will tell you where you have gone wrong with syntax errors - and believe me most of your problems will be typos where you've misplaced a > or an /.

cheers
D

D

[sdsbolt]

XMLWrench is just what I need. thanx!

[Pat Pattle]

pick up the campaign sdk. IIRC it is a standard MS sdk at the cfs3 site. If not, PM me and I will dig out a copy. It is in MS word format, so you need to have that software.

I've been looking at the campaign engine too, I can't find the campaign sdk though, any chance of a copy too please? :jump:

Thanks, Pat :ernae:

[FAFL342Pascal]

i use frequently the Mission Builder,
i have the Terrainsdk which i use to add facilities to the global layer,
but i never heard about a Campaign sdk ?
It would be great to have a copy.

Thanks a lot .:engel016:

[mrjmaint]

Hello All,

I found out through experimentation that when a side takes an “invasion area” they get a huge boost and a major offensive is started. In the Attack West (aka BoF) campaign the German side starts right up on the “invasion area” therefore it does not take many AI turns to take that “invasion area” and get a huge boost. In the other campaigns I looked at, they start out with each side several sectors away from an “invasion area” giving the player side the time to counter the AI turns by flying missions into an advancing sector or by starting a manual ground offensive if they have the points.

What I did was to take out the “invasion area” and have a campaign solely based on player vs. AI missions flown. AI offensives are still started but it is based on the points they gain and the “die rolls” set up in the campaign. Player offensives can still be started manually as the player gains the points.

Another option I could have done would have been to move back the Front Line from the “invasion area” to give the player side time to react to the German AI moves.

I would like to thank Daiwilletti for getting me the Campaign SDK a couple of weeks ago. It does help to explain the Campaign parameters but it does not explain all of them. Some just have to be found out by experimentation.

Thanks.

[Daiwilletti]

Pat, Pascal and ?mrjmaint, (can't read your post) - please just PM me with your respective emails and I will dig out copies of the campaign SDK to send them. I'm trying to remember where I got it from - it was a long time SOH contributor, who edited it up from an original part-started MS document. There are still one or two mysteries, but a number of the acronyms (eg. M,S,P for Morale, Supply and Power) are explained in the SDK which makes it v useful.

The most fun for me is editing the mission effects section, so that in BoB campaigns you can fly CAP sweep and aircraft intercept all day, and still win the campaign because you can assign enough value for those missions (and make anti_ship a low value so you never have to do one again!!)

cheers,
D
By the way I have to shoot out but I'll check your respective avatars to see if I can access your emails - it will have to be tomorrow now (I am on Down Under time remember :icon_lol:)